Palmetto-root plow.



W. M. KINGSBURY.

WlNDOW REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1914.

Patented June 15, 1915.

0000 000w ocoo THE NORRIS PETERS CO-, PHDTOLITHO. WASHINGTON. D. C,

ELMER A. KILGORE, 0F LORIMOR, AND JOHN W. KELLER, OF EAST PERU, IOWA.

' PALMETTO-ROOT PLOW.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1915.

Application filed July 6, 1914. Serial No. 849,289. 3

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELMER A. KILGORE and JOHN W. KELLER, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Lorimor and East Peru, respectively,in the counties of Union and Madison and State of Iowa, have invented acertain new and useful Palmetto- Root Plow, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple, durable andinexpensive means to assist in clearing ground infested by dwarf or bluepalmetto, or any other species having a creeping caudex.

A further object is to provide a plow for this purpose which has ahorizontal cutting blade, designed to be drawn longitudinally beneaththe creeping caudex to sever the fibrous roots which extend downwardlyinto the ground from the lower portion thereof, and to provide inconnection with a blade of this kind means for causing the blade to bedrawn into the ground and also to steady it against transverse movementwhile in operation.

Our invention consists in certain details, in the construction,combination and arrangement of the various parts of our device, wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully setforth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of our new and improved plow; Fig. 2shows a side elevation of the same, with a portion broken away andshowing the cutting blade in section, to illustrate the manner in whichit is operated, and Fig. 3 shows a vertical, transverse, sectional viewof a creeping palmetto root, showing the growth of the downwardlyextending fibrous roots in two substantially parallel rows. I

The numeral 10 indicates two parallel frame members, the forward ends ofwhich are bent inwardly toward each other and have a tongue portion 11secured between them by means of the bolts 12. The forward end of thetongue portion is provided with a clevis 13 to which the double tree maybe attached. The rear end of the tongue 11 extends beyond the extendingportions of the members 10 and is provided with a brace 14. The brace14: has its free end secured to the sides of the members 10 by means ofthe rivets 15. The central portions of the members 10 are provided withrearwardly and upwardly extending bars 16, the upper ends of which areprovided with handles 17. The bars 16 are secured together near theupper ends by means of the transverse rod 18. The braces 19 extenddownwardly from the central portions of the bars 16 and are secured tothe rear ends of the respective members 10 by means of bolts 20. Each ofthe side members 10 is provided with a downwardly projecting arm 21.Each of the arms 21 is provided near its central portion with braces 22,which are secured to the members 10 by means of the bolts 15 and 20. Theforward edge of the blade 23 is provided with two deep notches 23, oneon each side of its center, the blade at the sides of the notches havingthe cutting edges 25.

At each end of the blade 23 is a land side blade 26, having its forwardend curved downwardly and forwardly from its upper edge to its loweredge, as shown in Fig. 1, and sharpened. The said land side blades 26are secured to the upwardly extending portion of the blade 23 and to thearms 21 by means of bolts 24 and are arranged parallel with each otherand parallel with the tongue 11. These guide blades 26 help to preventlateral movement of the blade 23 when the plow is in action and thetapered forward end forms a suction which causes theplow to be drawninto the ground.

Mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the center of the blade 23are longitudinally arranged supporting bars 24*, and 25*, which extendbeyond the forward end of the blade 23 and are welded together at theirforward ends and sharpened to form a strong point 26.

Referring to Fig. 2, the numeral 28 indicates a portion of the creepingcaudex and shows the manner in which the fibrous roots 29 extenddownwardly into the ground. The portion 30 indicates the upwardly eX-tending portion from which the leaves grow. The fibrous roots 29 usuallygrow in two substantially parallel rows along the caudex.

When it is desired to remove one of these caudices from the ground, theblade 23 is arranged with its central portion beneath the stem 30 andthe blade 23 is moved longitudinally beneath the caudex 28, therebysevering the fibrous roots therefrom.

It is to be understood, of course, that the device may be drawn by anydraft animals or traction engine, as is most convenient,

through the clevis 13 and the tongue 11. The blade is drawn with thepoint 26 between the rows of roots 29. The members 25 and 24 reinforcethe blade 23 for the heavy work it is required to do. The point E26separates the rows of roots 29 and causes them to be properly engaged bythe blade 23, which cuts the roots 29 with a shearing movement. The useof the point and the peculiarly shaped blade causes the roots 29 to bedivided and help to prevent a tendency toward lateral movement of saidcutter. This tendency for lateral movement we have also partly overcomeby the blades 26, which on account of their pointed forward ends wouldtend to eliminate any tendency which the blades might have to moveeither laterally or upwardly and thereby engage the lower portion of thecaudex 28. The use of a comparatively strong point 26 produces aconstruction which will break hard ground and yet permit the use of acomparatively thin cutting blade.

. The blade 28 may be easily removed for sharpening or repairing bysimply removing the bolts 24. It will be seen that we have provided avery rigid and inexpensive plow which will be very steady in its actionsand also easy to operate.

It will be understood that some changes maybe made in the details of theconstruction of our device, without departing from its essentialfeatures, and it is our intent to cover by this application any suchchanges which may be included within the scope of the following claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a palmetto root plow, thecombination of a main frame, a tongue,handles on said frame, a downwardly extending arm on each side of saidframe, and a horizontal, transverse cutting blade between the lower endsof said arms, said cutting blade having rearwardly extending notches inits edge on each side of itsmedian longitudinal line.

2. In a palmetto root plow, the combination of a main frame, a tongue,handles on said frame, a downwardly extending arm on each side of saidframe, braces between said downwardly extending arms and said frame, ahorizontal, transverse cutting blade between the lower ends of saidarms, guide blades at the side edges of said cutting blade having attheir forward ends downwardly and forwardly extending cutting edges.

3. In a palmetto plow, the combination of a mainframe, a tongue, handleson said frame, a downwardly extending arm on each side of said frame,braces between said downwardly extending arms and said frame, ahorizontal, transverse cutting blade between the lower ends of saidarms, said cutting blade being'provi'ded with notches on each side ofits longitudinal center, longitudinal braces above and below the centerof said blade, extending forwardly from it and united at their forwardends to form a strong, sharp point, a guide blade formed at each side ofthe cutting blade, said guide blades being arranged longitudinally withsaid tongue.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a main frame,having a tongue and rearwardly extendingvhandles, a downwardlyprojecting arm on each side of said frame, a transverse cutting bardetachably secured between the lower ends of said downwardly projectingarms, guide blades secured to the sides of said cutting bar, arrangedparallel with each other and with said tongue, said guide blades beingprovided with a point formed with a clownwardly and forwardly extendingedge.

5. Ina device of the class described, a frame having rearwardlyextending handles, and a forwardly extending tongue, a downwardlyextending arm for each side of said frame, a transverse cutter bardetachably connected between the lower ends of said arms, and a guideblade at each end of said cutter bar and provided with pointed forwardends.

ELMER A. KILGORE. JOHN W. KELLER.

Witnesses BERT MARTIN, FRED E. DUFUR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, .0. C.

